FLAT FEET

"The flat foot, also called pes planus, is pronated with a flattened longitudinal arch. The hindfoot may be in valgus. Occasionally, there is an associated accessory navicular bone. In this congenital deformity, the ossification center of the navicular tuberosity fails to fuse to the main bone and remains a bony prominence on the medial side of the foot. These are often locally symptomatic and require protection or surgical excision.
Flat feet are classified as flexible or rigid. A flexible flat foot (or pronated foot) has full range of motion in the midtarsal joints. The arch of the foot can be developed by dynamic input through the tibialis posterior. A rigid flat foot has a fixed deformity, and the flattening of the longitudinal arch is unchanged by dynamic extrinsic input to the foot. The flexibile flat foot is the most common and is usually asymptomatic in the milder forms. Moderate to severe deformities may be symptomatic. The rigid flat foot is much more difficult problem and may prohibit such activities as long-distance running. A rigid flat foot is often due to congenital tarsal coalition, which is a fusion of some of the bones in the hindfoot and midfoot."
This is how flat foot problem is described in "Athletic Training and Sports Medicine" (AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEONS, 1991, pp.431-432).

The practical essence of this problem is that a flat foot doesn’t allow (completely or partially) the foot to be used as support during sport activity and particularly continuous activity as in long -distance running. Anatomical deformities such as an associated accessory navicular bone could require a surgery, but most of the flat foot problems could be solved through an exercise therapy.

Usually the original onset of a flat foot problem creates restrictions in the foot functional activity and with the introduction of different artificial support systems, such as foot orthodics, this problem is temporarily moved aside, but not solved.

In running, a flat foot obviously reduces training and racing performance. The healstriking technique brings particularly negative consequences because of the necessity to roll the body over the foot during the support time. This brings excessive loading of the foot over longer time of support and leveraging the foot. The use of the foot in this manner develops constant overloading of already not well-functioning foot, which consequently leads to the plantar pain and injury.

In the Pose Method® this kind of loading is significantly reduced by having a shorter time of support, less leveraging and not using muscular efforts to produce a "push off" by foot activity, which, in general, allows the runner to avoid and postpone negative consequences. But the most important thing is that the Pose Method" is teaching and training the proper muscular activity of the feet, increasing their functional strength and mobility, and eventually facilitating the healing process. All Pose Method® drills and special strength exercises are directed to developing a high level of functional activity and strength of interaction with support, where our feet are the most important component.

Dr.Romanov